Credit Suisse has handed the chief executive of its Americas business extra responsibility for its asset management arm after the previous head of the unit quit to join insurer Swiss Re.

David Blumer, an executive board member and chief executive of Credit Suisse’s asset management arm since June 2005, is leaving to become head of financial markets at Swiss Re next month, according to statements from both financial groups today.

Credit Suisse said it has appointed Rob Shafir, a long-standing Lehman Brothers banker who joined the Swiss bank in February last year as its Americas chief, to replace Blumer on the asset management front. He will retain his Americas role and continue to report to Credit Suisse chief executive Brady Dougan.

Dougan said: “Asset management is core to our strategy as an integrated bank. The challenging markets that have existed since the middle of 2007 offer Credit Suisse enormous opportunities to progress our strategy, and Rob is committed to leading the asset management business in pursuit of this goal.”

Credit Suisse’s asset management division racked up a Sfr247m (€157m) fourth-quarter loss last year compared with a profit in the same period the previous year after it was forced to buy distressed assets from its money market funds, which were facing liquidity pressures.

Full-year pre-tax profits at the division fell 30% to Sfr354m, while net revenues slipped a tenth to Sfr2.6bn on the back of the Sfr920m valuation reductions on the securities purchased from the money market funds.

As head of financial markets at Swiss Re, Blumer will oversee the insurer’s asset management business. He replaces Roger Ferguson, who is leaving the company.